Charities

General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited takes its corporate responsibilities very seriously. We take responsibility for our business activities and actively contribute to the communities in which we operate.

General Dynamics UK contributes on a national level to those charities aligned with our business activities, supporting those associated with the forces and the military. On a local level, we focus on the needs of the local communities in which we operate, including Hastings, Blackwood and Tewkesbury. Support can range from financial aid, employee volunteerism or other donations of support and resources.

Supporting our heroes

General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited focuses its national contributions on those charities and causes associated with our business activities. We take our responsibility to our customer very seriously, actively supporting several charities and benevolent funds associated with the military:

Mercury's March 2009

The group of soldiers carried stretchers symbolising injured troops on a 285-mile march from Plymouth to the Tower of London. General Dynamics UK donated £1,000 to help reach the target of £55,000 for Help for Heroes.

Combined Service Orienteering Team 2009

This team annually compete against UK University students over two days of individual and relay racing, and in 2009 General Dynamics UK donated their full race kit (pictured below).

Electronic Christmas Cards

Switching to electronic Christmas cards for Company distribution enabled us to donate the money we would have spent on printing and postage (£2,500) to Combat Stress, while also helping the environment.

Help for Heroes Rugby Challenge

General Dynamics UK provided financial support to the match and more than 100 employees with families and friends attended the event, which raised more than £1.45 million for Help for Heroes

Our employees often support our heroes through their own efforts – see “Employees making a difference”.

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Charitable activities in Hastings

Royal National Lifeboat Institute Beach Concert 2009

General Dynamics UK is supporting Hastings RNLI Beach Concert 2009.  We are one of the key sponsors of this free event which takes place in August raising money for the RNLI.  The event will be celebrating its 21st anniversary with the biggest lineup in the concert's history. The concert attracts audiences of around five thousand people each day over the weekend.  Volunteers act as stewards/crew and the bands play at the event free of charge with all profits being donated to the RNLI.

Hastings Half Marathon

General Dynamics UK is a major sponsor of the Hastings Half Marathon, which in 2009 raised over £100,000. Runners are encouraged to raise money for their own personal choice of charity, and many General Dynamics UK employees take part every year. Previous beneficiaries from General Dynamics UK competitors include Cancer Research, local brain injury care unit ‘Avanti’ and the British Heart Foundation. General Dynamics UK also donate money to the General Dynamics UK Charity Team Awards presented at the marathon.

"Time to Dance"

This Hastings and Rother Sports Partnership event is for students of 27 local schools between the ages of four and sixteen. General Dynamics UK provide graphic design services and cover the events’ printing costs.

Filsham Valley School

Every year General Dynamics UK makes a donation to the school’s Presentation Folder.

Hastings Priory Cricket Club

General Dynamics UK are major sponsors of the Hastings Priory Cricket Club, and members of the Company are always welcome to attend games and matches at the club, which also encourages and teaches local children to play sport.

Other local Hastings activities have included supporting Grade II listed building projects, improving local YMCA infrastructure and facilities, supporting the Air Warfare Centre’s Golf Competition and support of the annual Hastings ‘Beatles Day’ that raises money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

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Charitable activities in Wales

In Wales, General Dynamics UK has contributed to many local causes including schools, charitable foundations and sports clubs.

Christmas Charity Raffle

The 2009 Christmas raffle raised £1,243 for Crafts for Everyone, a local charity that provides training and support for people of all ages with learning diffiiculties and mental health problems, by teaching them to make an decorate ceramics. Previous raffles have raised over £4,000 for Homestart, a charity that support local young and vulnerable families and for the Macmillan unit at Oakdale Hospital, which provides special beds for those receiving palliative care .

Local Sports Clubs

General Dynamics UK are major sponsors of the Newbridge Rugby Club, as well as the Crumlin Cricket Club (pictured below). Members of the company are always welcome to attend games and matches at these clubs, both of whom encourage and teach local children to play sport.

Bryn Primary School

General Dynamics UK supported the provision of an IT suite for Bryn Primary School (pupils pictured below with MP Don Touhig)

Oakdale Primary School

General Dynamics UK donated a minibus to Oakdale Comprehensive School. The presentation was made by Dr Sandy Wilson (pictured below left, handing the keys to Don Touhig, MP for Islwyn)

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Charitable activities in Gloucestershire

In December 2007, General Dynamics UK presented a cheque for £3,521 to aid the Gloucestershire Relief Fund with monies kindly donated by General Dynamics UK employees across the UK plus £2,000 from the Company’s Charity Committee. More than 150 employees working at Ashchurch and Pershore were affected by the floods during the year, but despite this, the Ashchurch team successfully continued to deliver Bowman converted vehicles to the customer.

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Employees making a difference

A large proportion of charitable contribution stems from employee initiatives. Past events have included charity music gigs, dance shows, skydives, collections, donations of leaving presents, leg/chest waxes, abseils and amateur dramatics events.

Edinburgh Marathon / National Iron Man Competition

An employee from the Tewkesbury sites committed in 2009 to a series of events over the course of the year to raise money for Help for Heroes. The events include the Edinburgh Marathon and the National Iron Man contest which combines swimming, cycling and a full marathon.

Sponsored Skydive

Four employees from the Hastings site raised £1,600 for the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund by participating in a sponsored skydive.

Leg / Chest Waxing

Eight employees from South Wales took part in a sponsored leg and chest waxing event to raise £1,118.60 for Help for Heroes.

Comic Relief

Employees at the Wales site raised over £1,130 for Comic Relief with a variety of Red Nose day activities in 2009, including fancy dress, pie throwing, a newsletter and cake sale.

Band of Brothers Bike Ride

Wales employee and retired Major General Christopher Elliot took part in the six-day, 450 mile bike ride through France, aiming to help beat the £1.25 million raised by the event for Help for Heroes in 2008 (pictured below left. Pictured below right are some other competitors, including a Royal Marine who had lost his lower leg less than five months before in Afghanistan.)

Sponsored Abseil

Chris Butler-Donnelly, Strategy Director for C4I Systems, abseiled 150ft raising nearly £1,000 in aid of the Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity, of which he is trustee.

Hastings Sports & Social Club

The Hastings site Sports and Social Club raised over £1,100 in 2009 for Hurstwood Park Neurological Centre (pictured below).

Bellydance Show

A graduate employee from the Wales site organised a bellydance show in aid of Tenovus – Wales’ number one cancer charity. She raised over £1,850 and is now making the show an annual event (pictured below).

Graduate Scheme Community Projects

Designed to benefit the local community while developing the graduate and their skills, previous projects have included working with disabled children, giving talks to school children at all levels and engaging them in skills development activities, as well as car rallies, horse riding with the disabled and sponsored skydives.

Golf Society

The Golf Society raises funds by donating a small sum per player for every round of gold played in a year. Local charities are then  nominated by members to receive the funds, and in 2008 £400 was donated to the Welsh Air Ambulance (pictured below).

National Blood Service

Another initiative that exists across all our sites is support of the National Blood Service, who regularly visit to take donations from willing employees.

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